In a way, I agree with this. But some students just be angry if the instructor is on top of his/her studies. It is just how some students look at life - angry and that somebody owes them something for them to succeed.
Students express the way that the instructors represent what they give to them in the classrooms. The students give instructors feedback on a daily basis. If the student feel that the instructor is very knowledgeable in the information he/she is giving, the student will praise the instructor; but if an instructor is not knowledgeable in the information being giving, the student will inform the instructor that he/she has reading or research to do. Our students are very open with instructors in the classes.
Victoria, have you made an changes in your course or presentation based on this input? What makes the students want to participate in the survey?
Loren Kroh
My school asks students to complete an end-of-course survey. As the instructor I also ask students.to provide there.own feedback within a discussion about the course,content and school support. This way, feedback is immediate because sometimes you do not get to see the end of.course surveys.
Having instructors constantly challenge students to speak up about the direction their classroom experience is heading is probably contrary to the experience most instructors had when they were students. What kind of training is needed to create this behavior?
Loren Kroh
Students cdomplete surveys etc. What is more important is that instructors constantly challenge students to speak up about the direction their classroom experience is heading. Instructors need to be active participants in the student's school experience and effective role models.
A student services department sounds like a great resource for any campus. Is this something new on your campus, or has it been around for a while? How many students take advantage of it?
Is the Success Advisor similar to an academic advisor? How are the students referred to the Success Advisor? This seems like a really great resource.
I did suggest feeding the group, especially since our courses end at lunch time and start at dinner time. Thank you for the idea of actively seeking out the grumpy students; I will try that.
James, who evaluates the responses and how are the results shared with those involved? Have the results led to any significant changes in business practices?
Loren Kroh
Good use of the intelligence, Abdalla. You've made the survey valuable to your students.
Loren Kroh
Nicely done, Leslie. You're getting value out of this resource.
Loren Kroh
My tongue in cheek response is "food". My experience has been that there is usually a section that has a reputation for being unhappy or just grumpy. A meeting with them might be a source of useful intelligence. If you know where to find unhappy students, go see them instead of hoping they will participate in a group meeting.
Loren Kroh
We take a survey at the end of their first week to measure how Orientation squared up with their expectation of their first week of class. Half-way through each class another survey is taken to see how things are going. there is also an exit interview when they graduate to check on how well the school did.
I teach math and learned a few things from the surveys:
A) I became a better teacher
B) I use more Technology in my classroom,such as MYMATHLAB and MATHZONE softwares
C)I covered certain topics a little different from the previous term.
overall, it has a positive effect on me as math teacher.
No, we only use the SSI from Noel Levitz. The most important thing we learned from the SSI is that students don't feel the instructors provide quick enough feedback or explain the feedback well enough. We created a training on providing better, more encouraging, and timelier feedback.
We also made small changes outside of the academic department. We created a finacial aid drop box so students could drop off payments when the financial aid office was closed. We also put together a help guide, available in print and on our library's website, that has a ton of resources for virtually any problem. Those are just a few of changes we made.
My campus uses focus groups to go over the Noel Levitz SSI results, but it seems that the only students who attend are those who are happy with the school. This doesn't really give us an accurate view of the student body's thoughts. How can we encourage attendance?
Surveys can be beneficial when students see value in participating - ie they get feedback and see that the data has value to the institution. Focus groups can also provide useful information. Lunch with the [fill in the blank] is another informal opportunity to get feedback.
Loren Kroh
Leslie, do you use any other Noel-Levitz products? What have you learned from the SSI and what have you done as a result?
Loren Kroh
